


Vanishing Act

by love_write_edit_sleep



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Now You See Me (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Can be seen as Dylan Shrike or Bruce Banner tbh, Character Death, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Parent Dylan, Plotbunnies, Post-snap, Protective Dylan, Thanos snap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-30 23:03:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21436156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_write_edit_sleep/pseuds/love_write_edit_sleep
Summary: Dylan tries to contact The Horsemen after the snap.
Relationships: Alma Dray & Dylan Rhodes, J. Daniel Atlas & Dylan Rhodes, J. Daniel Atlas & Merritt McKinney & Lula May & Dylan Rhodes & Jack Wilder
Comments: 4
Kudos: 79





	Vanishing Act

**Author's Note:**

> Plot bunnies were a-nibbling... so this happened.

_ “The number you have dialled is unavailable.” _

“Come on, Merritt…” Dylan muttered, keeping his eyes firmly on the country road as he sped towards their most recent hideout. Sickness waved over him when he saw yet another trail of ashes on the side of the road.

Any other day, Dylan would obey the law; Drive at the speed limit and keep his phone in his pocket, but with half the planet panicking, he figured ‘to hell with it. It wasn’t the first time he’d broken the law for The Horsemen anyway. He tried Merritt’s number again, waiting with bated breath.

_ “The number you have dialled is unavailable.” _

“Shit… Fuck.” Dylan growled, momentarily glancing down at his phone and calling Lula.

_ “The number you have dialled is unavailable.” _

“I expect this from Merritt, but you, Lula?” Dylan whispered, as though he could make everything okay by making jokes. He tried again, desperate now, dialling with trembling fingers. “Come on, honey… Pick up…” 

_ “The number you have dialled is unavailable.” _

“Don’t do this…” Dylan pleaded, though he didn’t know who to. The Horsemen? The Avengers? God? He tried Jack’s number. His heart skipped a beat when the phone rang, instead of the tortuous ‘unavailable’ message. His hope quickly dissipated when Jack’s voicemail kicked in.

_ “Yo. Why do you have this number? Leave a message anyway. I like messages.”  _

“Jack, this is a really shitty time to forget your phone!” Dylan cried after the beep. “I-If this is a prank, Jack, it’s not funny! Just call me back! Someone!” The road ahead became blurry through unshed tears as Dylan tried Daniel’s number.

_ “The number you have dialled is unavailable.” _

“No, fuck… please…” Dylan whispered, trying again.

_ “The number you have dialled is unavailable.” _

Dylan slammed his foot on the brake, the car skidding to a halt in the middle of the empty road, empty because half the fucking population had dusted with the snap, including his four kids.

He’d been amongst many watching through a shop window when the news broadcast that approximately 50% of the Earth’s population had spontaneously turned to dust. Including The Horsemen.

He  _ screamed _ ; A pained, anguished scream that burned his throat. He slammed his hands against the steering wheel in anger, his tears finally falling as he gave in to the fact that  _ his kids were gone _ . He didn’t care that he was in the middle of the road, didn’t care as he sobbed so hard his chest felt like it would burst, because his kids were fucking  _ gone _ and he was still there.

He didn’t want to be. He wanted to drive the car off a fucking cliff.

A soft noise filled the car, so quiet Dylan could barely hear it over his choked cries. As he gasped for air, he heard it and looked down at his phone, vibrating softly next to him.

_ Incoming call: Danny _

Dylan had never picked up a phone so fast in his fucking life, his hands shaking so bad he almost hung up accidentally.

“Danny…?” Dylan dared to hope.

_ “D-Dylan?” _

“Oh, thank fuck…!” Dylan sobbed in relief. “A-are you okay? The others? A-are they-?”

_ “Th-they’re gone, Dylan, I-I… We were practicing stuff, I th-thought it was a trick or something, then the news- and I- I called but y-you must have been on the line o-or something a-and I thought you were gone too a-and I was all a-alone a-and-“ _

“I’m here, Danny, we’re both here.” Dylan assured him quickly, as if Daniel would turn to dust too if he didn’t get it out quick enough. “Where are you? I’m coming. I promise I’m coming.” Dylan quickly restarted the car and took off down the road. “Where are you, Danny?”

_ “Um… M-Manhattan Br-Bridge?” _

“Danny.” Dylan knew why he was there.

_ “I thought I was a-alone, okay? Y-you must h-have thought the same! O-of doing the same!” _

It was true, he had.

“I’m coming, Danny. I’m coming, okay?” Dylan told him. “I’m coming.”

_ “Okay. I’ll be here.” _

-

Dylan didn’t hang up, talking to Danny for the whole journey. They both cried, they both screamed about how unfair it all was, they both wondered if it hurt when the other’s dusted, then they both cried again until they couldn’t.

Eventually, the bridge was in sight, and Dylan spotted Danny standing on a grassy patch near the front of the bridge. Dylan pulled up, didn’t even stop the car, before running over to the showman, pulling him into the tightest hug he can muster. Daniel hugged him back with equal desperation.

“Thank god, Jesus, fuck, thank god…” Dylan choked, his voice cracking as he pressed his cheek against Daniel’s hair. Daniel trembled, clinging to Dylan tightly.

“Dylan-“

“Shh, it’s going to be okay, I got you…” Dylan whispered, pulling away and pressing a kiss to Daniel’s forehead.

“It’s just us…” Daniel blinked up at Dylan. “The others…”

“I know…” Dylan pulled Daniel close again, this time less desperate, more caring.

“It’s not fair…” The younger man buried his face, trying to hide the tears. Dylan nodded.

“I know it’s not…” Dylan knew they weren’t the only ones. There were hundreds of families out there, trying to contact each other, trying to find each other, though most of them would fail. There were hundreds of families holding their remaining loved ones close, unable to completely comprehend what had happened. “We’re the lucky ones, Danny…”

“I don’t feel lucky.” Daniel muttered.

“Me neither. I don’t think any of us do.” The ex-agent briefly wondered if Alma had survived.

“What do we do now…?” Daniel asked, looking up. Dylan sighed.

“I don’t know…”


End file.
